Tag: writing

Thankful for Uncharted Territory, the Secret, & an Outdoor Morning Moving Meditation

Thankful for Uncharted Territory, the Secret, & an Outdoor Morning Moving Meditation

Day 4,046

Growth:

One of my favorite authors once shared that the reason they write what they do is to figure out how they feel about a certain thing. As I was starting to think about my blog today I was almost giddy as I had an idea or two, but I really didn’t know where this post was going to take me. Then it hit me, that’s one of the reasons I appreciate this practice so much – I never know where it’s going to go and I likely wouldn’t have gotten there without taking time to write and think it through.

This practice, more than eleven years in, and it’s still surprising me with the reasons why I appreciate it so! Here’s to all of the uncharted territory I worked my way into without intent over the past decade and change!

Appreciation:

After spending a few hours working on my passion project today my mind kept pulling back to this quote:


The awful truth would begin to dawn on him: there was no Secret! His days would have to be spent in exactly this manner, give or take a mile or two, for longer than he cared to think about, if he really wanted to see the olive wreath up close. It would simply be the most difficult, heartrending process he would endure in the course of his life. At that point most of them would drift away.

John L. Parker, Once a Runner

How many of us spend so much time trying to find a shortcut, a way to make something difficult easy? I can’t even begin to express how much of my life energy has been spent in this simple pursuit of the quick way. In some ways it’s incredibly humbling, but I also fear it is also incredibly human.

When I read the quote above I picture the imagery from the book, Once a Runner, in which the focus is on putting in a ton of miles of running… day after day after day… as the way to getting to the goal. Everyone wants the shortcut, but once they learn the awful truth that “the secret” is nothing more than putting in the reps over and over and over and over, they lose heart and quit.

Interestingly enough, when we somehow find a way to keep grinding, to keep putting in the reps, we might eventually find just how much of an impact that repeating action made. Case in point, this daily blog has averaged about 320 words per day. Those 320 words per day have somehow accumulated to almost 1.3 MILLION words over the past eleven years! How wild is that? They just keep adding up, piece by piece by piece.

As I keep working on my next project, Life Topography (more coming very soon now) also has a longer term underlying structure beneath it. What started almost twenty years ago as a way for me to remember what was important to me in life has slowly grown. Over the past five years it’s become a core of who I am and has generated more and more of the daily grind / slow burn habits that have helped me grow towards more and more of my dreams recently. Those habits include reviewing my annual map each morning before I get out of bed as well as daily scorecard to review my day as I lay in bed before going to sleep. Small and simple steps, but unceasing, relentless.

I love creating and inventing things. I really enjoy the process of shaping something from the aether that has never existed or re-shaping an existing process to improve it. While that is fun, that is novel, and that is entertaining, some of the largest gains come from the simple act of doing the same thing over and over and over and over until we really start to see the core of the thing… and that’s just the start! Then we have to keep doing it over and over and over, maintaining the relentless trial of miles and miles of trials. Eventually, the magic happens and we didn’t even notice that it had been building while we were continuing to grind.

There’s a true magic in maintaining, in gritting something out, in being relentless. There’s a joy to be found in the process of putting in the reps, and more joy as we grow into what the reps build us into.

Presence:

I had a crazy idea for Becky and I this morning, I’m so glad she was game for it! We woke up early, drove out to the Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge and proceeded to have a five mile jogging nature / bird watching / outdoor moving meditation. So much beauty and wonder to be found there this morning! We saw a good size buck burst out of the woods and run away from us. There were giant groups of pelicans preening and fishing. A flock of cormorants joined another flock and another flock and all flew in the direction of warmer horizons. Becky noticed something flying in the woods and pointed it out. Next thing we knew we were staring at a Barred Owl who seemed to be having just as much fun watching us! So many birds and birdsong throughout. We’d jog for a while, stop to take in the view, and then get moving again with no goal of a distance or a time, only to be present in nature together. These are the moments in which I am so grateful for Becky in my life!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for My 2026 Reading Goal, Choosing My Mindset, & Engaging Conversations

Day 4,042

Growth:

One of my Start Doing’s for 2026 was to read, re-read, and then re-re-read 25 specific books. Each was selected for a specific reason, largely focused on values I wanted to live into more this year, concepts I wanted fresh in my brain, and stories that have always struck me as interesting on a deeper than surface level. With a little over two months to go I’m on track and only have 10 reads to go, 65 already under my belt.

I’ve learned so many things through this process. There are books I’d like to read more than three times due to how engaging they are. There are also books that I’m going to set aside and not pick back up for at least a year or two. Throughout each I’ve caught myself seeing deeper insights, hearing slightly different themes, and changing my behavior and thoughts as a result. It’s been a positive result for sure!

I miss reading so many different titles, I’ve only read 14 outside of the 25 core curriculum of 2026, but I’ll get back to that next year. This year this level of focus was exactly what my mind needed to help hardwire some of these concepts into my brain. Here’s to the home stretch of 2026 AND to the new books of 2027.

Appreciation:

This was a day! Many reasons for that statement, some positive, some scary, some exciting, some frustrating. As Jim Valvano once said, “if you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day!” In one single sixty minute stretch each of those was knocked off the list! During the entirety of the day there were definitely some repeats of all of them.

What’s interesting is that I could find myself looking only at the positive and trying to forget about the frustrating, keeping an overly optimistic view of all of it, but I’d be getting it wrong.

I could find myself looking only at the negative and getting so frustrated and agitated as I forgot about the positive, keeping an overly negative view of all of it, but I’d be getting it wrong.

As luck would have it, my current book is The Book of Joy in which the Dalai Lama and Bishop Tutu share so much wisdom about framing moments and putting the focus on where it should be. They had a positive impact on me today and helped me choose what feels to be the more correct path.

All of the things today happened. They were each individually good or bad, they were. Each of those moments offered an opportunity to learn, to feel, and to experience life. Each moment gave me an opportunity to be grateful – I was alive for each of those moments, I was able to experience each of those moments. So many of them were out of my control. In most I was grateful for the opportunity to see that I can live my core values and into my purpose in good times and in difficulty. In some I was able to more clearly see the gap between who I am and who I be living into, I was shown an opportunity to grow. Each of those moments was a gift.

Each moment, not good, not bad, always a gift. An opportunity for growth. My mind and soul, both at peace.

Presence:

Today had several conversations that involved some hard core presence. In each there was no room for anything but being right in the moment – to follow along, to dig deeper into a difficult topic, to be sure I was hearing what the person was saying. There were some with high emotions, some more cerebral and logical, and others focused on new ideas and growth.

The consistent detail was keeping the focus on the conversation I was having the with the individual – hearing them, considering their message, and responding accordingly.

Very grateful for each of those conversations today, they were so engaging that they inspired me to work harder on being that engaged in other conversations.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Positivity, My Forties, & Ouimet Canyon

Day 4,018

Growth:

I’m so many ways this quote from Speaker for the Dead hits home today:

“No human being, when you understand his desires, is worthless. No one’s life is nothing. Even the most evil of men and women, if you understand their hearts, had some generous act that redeems them, at least a little, from their sins.”  Orson Scott Card, Speaker for the Dead

Today I was reminded of how easy it is to look at the life of another in a binary fashion – they were good or they were bad – when we know our own lives are across the spectrum of those two ends of the spectrum.

Throughout my life I’ve made mistakes, but I’d like to think I’ve made a more positive impact.  That said, if someone was to focus only on my biggest mistakes they would likely be accurate in saying I am a terrible person – and I would not be able to disagree if that was the only point to argue.  I would find it very unfair and would be so frustrated – “but what about all the good I did???” – why don’t you focus on that???

And then I realize that is what I do when I judge others.  I focus on only one or two key things.  Who am I to judge when I have not been in their shoes?  When I have not been their ugh their life?  When I don’t know the positives they have done?  How dare I judge?  What if my judging of them was the only thing someone judged me by?

Mike – remember to pause, remember there is always so much more to another person.  Do not judge – listen, love, help, support.  How much better will my fifties be if I lived this lesson?

Appreciation:

The last day of my forties being spent doing another ridiculous hike with Becky, a return to Nanabosho atop the chest of Sleeping Giant.  While it may have been a little longer than expected it was about as perfect of a way as possible to wave goodbye to my forties as I move on to the next stage.  We were outside for hours and hours, spent time talking and enjoying each other’s company while knocking out the miles.  So many stories remembered, some new ideas and adventures planned.  

Crazy to think of all that has happened in the past decade, so many positives, a many challenges, a lot of learning, and so much time shared with loved ones.  This decade of life has been one of the best, even the most difficult times led to more love, intentionality, and joy.  The memories made in this ten year span alone were a lifetime’s worth, so grateful for each of them.

The memories made who kicked off the big Four Oh had no idea how much there was to learn in life, how deep love could be, how full one’s heart could be.  I can only imagine and look forward to the big Five Oh and all I’ll continue to learn and grow through.

To my forties, thank you for working through the discomfort, for finding the power of gratitude, for intentionally living into what was most important.  Thank you for all of your beautiful stumbles and mistakes, your painful life lessons, and all the other events that helped shape me into who I am today.  May my next decade do you honor by continuing that journey, by continued learning, and by better closing the gap between who I am – who you grew me into – and who I should be.

Presence:

Standing atop a 300+ foot vertical drop down a rock cliff, looking over 400 feet across at an equally sizable drop.  The Ouimet Canyon did not disappoint, the sight of it shut off all in my brain except the focus on its beauty.  The views towards the end of the valley, the views of the cliff walls, the rock formations defying gravity and standing vigil over the canyon floor.  Everything in that view grabbed my attention and left me completely captivated!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Changed by Mistakes, the People Who Make Home Home, & the Highway

Day 4,015

Growth:

Well, I’m thinking this might be a little more common over the next few days as I read more and more of The Speaker for the Dead. There is no question that it is one of my all time favorites as I discussed yesterday. So many nuggets of wisdom, so many themes that wind slowly throughout.

This was one of the quotes that really stuck out to me today, a quote about giving oneself grace. This theme is interwoven throughout the entire novel in so many ways with so many characters. We’ve all made mistakes, have regrets for actions we’ve taken and actions we didn’t take when we should have.

This quote reminds me that the me who made those mistakes is not the me who is realizing that the mistakes were made, to remember to focus on the me who is here now, who is different, who is changed, as a result.


A strange thing happened then. The Speaker agreed with her that she had made a mistake that night, and she knew when he said the words that it was true, that his judgment was correct. And yet she felt strangely healed, as if simply speaking her mistake were enough to purge some of the pain of it. For the first time, then, she caught a glimpse of what the power of speaking might be. It wasn’t a matter of confession, penance, and absolution, like the priests offered. It was something else entirely. Telling the story of who she was, and then realizing that she was no longer the same person. That she had made a mistake, and the mistake had changed her, and now she would not make the mistake again because she had become someone else, someone less afraid, someone more compassionate.


If I’m not that frightened girl who heard her brother in desperate pain and dared not go to him, who am I? But the water flowing through the grillwork under the fence held no answers. Maybe she couldn’t know who she was today. Maybe it was enough to know that she was no longer who she was before.

Orson Scott Card, The Speaker for the Dead

Appreciation:

A full and productive day at work hot off the heels of a nonstop day of adulting had me worn out for sure. All good, a productive worn out, but worn down nonetheless.

Getting home to Becky back was awesome! We’re both pretty tired, but it just feels more like home when she’s here, no question.

At 6:15 the two of us hopped onto one of our twice a week family FaceTime sessions with the boys, the four of us all getting together even though we’re separated by about 16 hours of drive time. Those moments shared catching up with each other were amazing, though we’re far apart we’re able to stay connected. Many jokes, laughs, updates, and so on – so much love on the call.

Today I’m thankful for all of the people who help home feel like home, for the time shared with family to help re-energize and remind me of why I do all that I do.

Presence:

My morning drive was again the source of my presence inspiration today. The weather was just too perfect of a “driving in the morning while the sun is coming up and keep the music blasting while drinking my coffee” kind of weather!

With the windows down the cool air blew through the car, the fog intermittently hid and exposed the sun, providing a very intriguing combo of sunlight and dreary all at once.

I sang aloud to a little Audioslave (I am the Highway) and several different Rural Alberta Advantage bangers while occasionally pausing to drink coffee in the guitar solos.

All in the world was at peace, no stress, no worries, no looking ahead, no looking back, only the moment I was in as the highway laid out before me.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Writing Down Dreams, a Reminder of Love and Forgiveness, and a Morning of Music by The Rural Alberta Advantage

Day 4,004

Growth:

On our hike this morning Becky and I were talking about the power of writing down dreams and goals. We both recognized multiple times in which we had written a dream down, let it slip from our conscious memory, and were then surprised when we happened back up on the list long after and realized we’d already knocked out some of the dreams we’d written and forgotten.

When our mind puts pen to paper there is a re-wiring of our brain, somewhere deep down we remember and unconsciously find a way to help to transmute the dream to reality.

Write my dreams down more often, it doesn’t cost anything, write them down and see what happens.

Appreciation:

Our priest dove deeply into the concept of forgiveness today and it was a clear and direct reminder of one of the biggest things I need to work on in myself. As he shared multiple stories and ideas I kept coming back to one specific phrase that will likely become a part of my 2027 Top 3 Lessons to Remember:

Choose love and forgiveness over fear and anger.

So easy to get angry and frustrated. So easy to have fear and close one’s mind.

Pause, breathe, and remember to love, remember to forgive. Our life is not fully our own, it is to be shared. Share it openly with others, remember to love ALL people, not just those I know, am related to, am friends with, care about, and agree with. Love all, we are all a part of one shared humanity. Love will conquer fear, forgiveness quenches anger.

Thank you Father Conrad for another moving sermon that will have a lasting positive impact on my life.

Presence:

After our morning hike I got into one of my music driven moods, my soul was craving a dose of something specific – The Rural Alberta Advantage, specifically their song Late September Snow. A song about transition, time slipping by without being noticed, the shocking realization that time has moved by as I was oblivious.

I know this change it
brings a heavy heart,
Breaks us all apart.
So, I don’t know where the days they go,
I’m always shocked by late September snow.
I don’t know how the years erode.

Rural Alberta Advantage – Late September Snow

With so many changes in life this seems so appropriate. Turning fifty, becoming an empty nester, the sensation of turning a huge new chapter, they all have created a vortex of “Last Ofs” and “First Ofs,” the combination of which has my brain simultaneously crying in sadness and joy and grief and excitement and wonder. That combo has really helped me see the passing of time so clearly, almost a day by day ticking of the clock which wasn’t there several months ago.

As that song wrapped up I slid back to 3 Sisters, another of their songs focused on the impermanence of our lives, the way we grow so quickly in life, especially when compared to being viewed through the “Eyes of 3 Sisters” – three majestic and iconic peaks outside of Canmore, AB. To us our lives fly by at a breakneck pace, yet they are our entire existence. When viewed through the eyes of 3 Sisters we’re but a blink, a blip.

The music of The Rural Alberta Advantage, such a wonderful way to get my soul and brain rolling this morning after our hike!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Saying the Difficult, Blogging on the Deck, & The Nights by Avicii

Day 4,002

Growth:

It is so easy to give the easy answer, the one that someone wants to hear. To say yes rather than no, to say the something that is so easy to express rather than that which puts a lump in our throat.

Life is so much better, more vivid, and more real when we face the difficult, when we share the tough news. It’s not comfortable, not by a long shot, but the difficult thing helps move things forward.

I was reminded today of the importance of sharing the difficult rather than glossing over it with the easy. We all grow when we face difficulty and hardship, that is where we are forged. We may not enjoy it in the moment, but those are the moments that really create us. Speaking truth, no matter how difficult, helps us all grow.

Appreciation:

What a perfect weather evening!!! We ate supper outside on the deck. We went for a walk. Now I’m blogging on the deck while enjoying the outdoor air, the smell of a neighbor’s fire wafting over, the sounds of crickets chirping and clicking. The sensation of a light breeze blowing across my face. Balancing the temperature with shorts and a sweatshirt, occasionally looking up to the stars.

Fresh air, the outdoors, this is my happy place! There may be sounds of traffic, people, an AC unit running, and a train in the distance, but it doesn’t matter, I am outdoors. So grateful for the space and time and weather to be able to sit out on my deck and relax as I type my blog. Once this is done my feet will go up and I’ll be lost in a book until I finally decide to crash and go to bed. What a way to wrap up the week!

Presence:

Not gonna lie, I had a moment while I was driving to work this morning. I played the song “The Nights” by Avicii and got a little choked up.

Thinking about the lyrics and their meaning.

Thinking about my sons and how this is our song.

Thinking about time with Dad.

Thinking of all the adventures my boys and I have gone on together.

One song, so many emotions tied back to it, all released in a torrent as the music played. A moment of sublime joy.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for 4,000 Days of Gratitude

Day 4,000

Growth:

Quick spoiler alert, it is only fitting to share that I often don’t write these sections in order. I often have one or two categories that come flying off my fingertips while one sometimes gets caught in the weeds a bit. Tonight is one of those nights, and part of this section is a direct result of the Appreciation section below.

As I pause and consider all that has happened and all that I’ve learned over the past four thousand days of blogging my mind bends as the sheer volume of what I’ve written in those past four thousand blog posts starts to sink in.

There are a couple of large themes and lessons that have continued to grow and expose themselves over this expanse of time.

  • Pause first, then choose. The simple act of pausing to think has come through over and over in these 4,000 posts. It’s often as clear as being grateful for pausing, other times it is almost hidden in the landscape as it is the pausing to write this blog that created the space for my thoughts to form before I took action and started writing.
  • Discomfort is the address of growth, and the boundary keeps moving. In reviewing the past posts I’m intrigued by how often they involve the way discomfort leads to growth. As the blogs keep going it seems that I’m more and more actively pushing myself into more and more intense discomfort specifically to grow.
  • Trials of miles, and miles of trials. The act of doing the exact same thing day after day after day can either be drudgery or bliss – how do I choose to see the discomfort? Novelty is fun and easy, the trials of miles, of putting in the reps is difficult, but so rewarding!
  • My attention has a location, and it is outdoors. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, but somehow this blog seems to have helped me see just how much of a core part of me it is, and it has helped me re-focus my life in a way that I’m able to enjoy it more often and share it more with those I love.
  • This practice has not created more time or life, but it has helped me get so much more out of the time and life I have had. There is no way to get more time than we are each allotted, but we can certainly control how much we actually live the time we have. By pausing to write I’ve been able to see and enjoy so much more of my life, to help me live more intentionally into the life I want to live.

These lessons and so many more… the past 4,000 days have taught me so much about life, I’m grateful for each of those lessons!

Appreciation:

Today I pass an interesting trail marker. This is the 4,000th time I’ve blogged in the past 4,000 days. Almost once per day with the exception of one around the 2,750 mark that I immediately wrote the next morning to get myself back on track.

This daily practice has cost me virtually nothing but about 15-45 minutes per day. The return on the investment has been priceless. In no other practice have I learned so much about myself. The simple act of pausing to breathe and think has helped me coordinate the dreams of who I want to be with the actions leading to that person – even though they are seemingly impossible to completely live into and I’ve yet to have a single day in which I’ve lived the entire day in the way I would like to live it. In taking this time to pause I’ve been able to help close the gap just a bit, significantly more than I ever had in that period of time in my life before.

My heart is full of so much love and gratitude for so many in my life, it’s a reminder to appreciate those around me, those who impact me. It reminds me that none of us make it through life alone, that life is so much better when shared.

This practice throughout the past 4,000 days has brought so much joy to my heart, not necessarily creating it on its own, rather helping me see all the joy provided by life that I so easily could have looked right past had I not paused. That might be one of the things that has surprised me about this practice – it hasn’t given me more time or life, but it’s helped me more completely enjoy and appreciate the time and life I have.

To 4,000 days – a true trial of miles and miles of trials!

Presence:

The moments in which I gently press the pause button on the rest of the world to dive inward and reflect upon the day is amongst my favorite moments of the day. It is my moment to breathe, to think, to be honest with myself and my situation.

The thinking about gratitudes from the day usually brings a smile to my face, sometimes a frown, and sometimes a blank stare… but each brings me joy.

It is that moment on a great day when I have the opportunity to bask in its successes. It is that moment on a trying day in which I realize I need to shift my mindset and find the positive spin while embracing the suck. It is the moment on a nonstop day full of action in which I pause to re-focus and get my mind straight.

Each moment when I am done and press the Publish button I am smiling – for the events of the day, for what I have learned, what I have worked through, for the moment of calm, for the reminder of gratitude creating joy (remembering that comfort and joy can be two wildly different things).

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Living Intentionally, the Unexpected Upside of a Goal, & a Soul at Peace

Day 3,995

Growth:

Time to start winding down for the night, big day of adventure and challenge ahead tomorrow.  What’s funny is that the goal tomorrow isn’t technically on my dream list, but the concept of it is very much in line with the type of person who would live my dream list.  

This is a well timed reminder for me that while the dream list itself is in many ways the gateway to living more intentionally, living the life it is meant to lead toward is so much more important than living the specific dream itself.  In many ways I’m reminded of the metaphor used by de Mello of the vehicle that takes you to the house is needed, but you don’t use it to enter the house itself. 

In which other times have I focused too tightly on the specific dream rather than the life the dream was meant to support?  How can I keep that dichotomy of needing a clear dream to use to get me moving, yet keeping the flexibility and awareness to shift as needed?

As I prepare to start working on my 2027 revision of my dream list this reminder couldn’t have been more well timed!

Appreciation:

In a similar vein to the section above, I’m grateful for the goal which led me to today’s day with Dominic.  With a goal of being fully present with Gavin during his last year at home I was reminded of both the importance of presence and the impermanence of all stages of life.  The time we have with loved ones is so limited and can slip by so quickly, I must remember to be intentional with my moments.

As a result of that lesson I remembered to be very intentional and parlayed that into an adventure to Canada with Dominic for a ridiculous hiking adventure.  There’s maybe a 50% chance of success in our goal for tomorrow (the 20+ mile, 4,500+’ hike of Sleeping Giant in Ontario in one go), but there’s a 100% chance of creating memories.  We’ve already had so much fun on the drive up, almost no screen time for either of us on the entire drive except for confirmation of hiking details.

The goal was presence with Gavin, but there’s true intent was to be intentionally present and to create more moments with loved ones.  Today that had nothing to do with Gavin and had everything to do with Dominic.  Again, I’m grateful for not focusing on checking a box, rather, living the life the box was meant to support.

Presence:

I absolutely LOVE the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the North Shore of Wisconsin and Minnesota.  The entire US shore of Lake Superior is spectacular.  That said, I was in for quite the shock this evening as we drove across the border into Canada.  Literally only miles before the border the entire topography somehow shifted into an even more majestic topography.  This entire area with its severe cliffs, verdant forests, lowland swamps and lakes, and continually undulating landscape are beyond anything I could have imagined around Lake Superior.  Dominic and I spent the last two hours of our drive in awe as we soaked up all the sights.

There is something about this area that feels so right, so much like home, like a bit of my soul has always been here, like it is returning to the place of its birth.  I know no other way to put it, my core of me is more in tune here, more grounded, than virtually anywhere else. 

For clarity, it’s not a desire to live here (visiting is definitely the right way for me), not a place I need to come to all the time (but I’ll likely be here a little more often), but something similar to and yet more intense than what I’ve always felt up in the UP.  A peace, a calm, at a visceral level.  A feeling of home, of rightness, like I’ve crossed a boundary into something that exists just outside of the plane of life.  Not the sense of awe and wonder of travel to places like Sequoia NP or Patagonia or Iceland, there is awe for sure, but more feeling like a deep exhale when walking into my home after being away for two weeks.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Planning Ahead, a Top Ten Hike, and Shared Adventures

Day 3,996

Growth: 

I can’t express enough how grateful I am for remembering that the point is not to check a box, that the point is to live the life the box was meant to check.  I’ve had the opportunity to create a core memory with Dominic, one we’ll hold forever.  While it wasn’t specifically a goal this year it is directly as a result of a lesson I wanted to remember in 2026, a different goal I set in 2026, and a supporting goal I set for myself in 2026.  It is also in part thanks to honoring the season of life I am in, of living intentionally, and also thanks to remembering that living into our purpose creates so many opportunities for joy in our lives.

Thank you to the Mike of the end of 2025 for taking the time to pause, create a plan based on how I wanted to live my 2026, and putting all of the work into action for this all to have come together!

Appreciation:

Today was easily one of the top ten day hikes I’ve ever done in my life.  The scenery was spectacular and stunning to say the least, ever changing and full of wonderful surprises if I want to go deeper.  

Honestly, while all of that blew my mind, what I am most thankful for today was not the hike, the park, the views, the accomplishment or anything else.  I’m most grateful for a day share completely with Dominic, one we will both remember for the rest of our lives.

We will forever remember the sights we saw together.  The ridiculous hike we accomplished together.  The conversations and the jokes we shared together.  The memories we shared while having walking tacos for supper and a couple of cold beers after.  We will remember the laughs, the talks, the experiences, the dreams, and the stories.  We will remember the time together – I’m beyond grateful for creating this opportunity for us to share this day together!

Presence:

I can’t even…. Every peak was a practice in presence.  Each overlook was a practice in presence.  Each lake and beaver dam and boulder field was a practice in presence.  Most importantly, the conversations with Dominic throughout and after were practices in presence.  The total amount of intentional presence was through the roof!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Lyrics Sharing How I Feel about Becky

Day 3,991

Over the past week Becky and I have had the opportunity to launch Gavin off to start his college career and took time to spend time together traveling and soaking up the outdoors as our lives transition to being empty nesters. Throw in closing in on the big 5 – 0 and our 25th wedding anniversary and it’s been wild to think of how much we’ve been through and how much life there is ahead of us.

All of these shifts and changes and milestones and everything are so much easier to work through knowing I’m able to partner with my absolute best friend and love of my life. Everything can change, we will remain – and, more importantly – we will find a way to keep growing closer.

What I’m most thankful for this evening is a shortlist of song lyrics that I swear the artists wrote specifically for how I feel about Becky. I’m beyond blessed to share my life with her every day!

This might not be an easy time
There’s rivers to cross and hills to climb
Some days we might fall apart
And some nights might feel cold and dark

But nobody wins, afraid of losing
And the hard roads are the ones worth choosing
Someday we’ll look back and smile
And know it was worth every mile

And it don’t matter to me
Wherever we are is where I wanna be
And honey, for once in our life
Let’s take our chances and roll the dice
I can be your lucky penny
You can be my four-leaf clover
Starting over

Chris Stapleton – Starting Over

And when the stars don’t shine no more and all the good days have come and gone. Well, I just want you to always know – my home is you, my home is you…
…I don’t know where I’m going, I don’t know where I am, But I’m here till the end with you. All this time, well, I’ve known – that my home’s with you.

The Strumbellas – My Home is You

Home is wherever I’m with you.
Home is when I am alone with you.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Home

We swore we’d travel, darlin’, side by side
We’d help each other stay in stride
But each lover’s steps fall so differently
But I’ll wait for you, and if I should fall behind, wait for me

Now, everyone dreams of a love lasting and true
Oh, but you and I know what this world can do
So let’s make our steps clear that the other may see
And I’ll wait for you, and if I should fall behind, wait for me

Bruce Springsteen – If I Should Fall Behind

Since we met, I feel a lightness in my step
You’re miles away, but I still feel you
Anywhere I go, there you are…
…Everything is fine, when your head’s resting next to mine, next to mine.

Vance Joy – Fire and the Flood

I don’t get many things right the first time, in fact, I am told that a lot. Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles, and falls brought me here.
And where was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday and I know that I am the luckiest.

Ben Folds – Luckiest

Thanks!!!